{
  "abstract": "Introduction: Mass-gathering events (MGEs) have important public health implications. Large-scale sporting events, which often increase the social acceptance and availability of substances, can amplify consumption behaviors and lead individuals to exceed their usual limits. However, evidence on short-term changes in substance-related healthcare utilization remains limited and heterogeneous in Germany. Accordingly, the Robert Koch Institute analyzed routine ED data from the AKTIN Registry to detect changes in substance-related ED visits during the men’s UEFA EURO 2024 hosted in Germany.\n\nMethods: Three syndrome definitions based on ICD-10-GM diagnoses, chief complaints, and age criteria were developed to identify intoxication patterns: any psychotropic substance intoxication (SATX), acute alcohol intoxication (ATX), and substance intoxication excluding alcohol (STX). Cases during the tournament period (14 June–14 July 2024) were compared with a reference period including pre- (17 May–2 June) and post-tournament phases (15–28 July). Analyses were stratified by sex, age group and triage level. Relative changes (Δ%) were calculated as percentage differences between periods.\n\nResults: Between 1 January 2018 and 9 September 2024, 5.6 million ED visits from 39 EDs were analyzed. Substance-related intoxications accounted for 2.6% (SATX), 1.2% (STX), and 1.1% (ATX) of all visits. During the tournament period, moderate increases were observed across all indicators. Cases were more frequent among males, with further increases during the tournament (SATX: +4.9%; ATX: +5.1%; STX: +3.3%), and predominantly affected middle-aged adults. A moderate rise in less urgent visits (triage level 4) was observed.\n\nConclusions: Increases in substance-related ED visits were observed during EURO 2024; however, absolute case numbers remained moderate, indicating that an anticipated surge in substance use may not have materialized at the national level across participating EDs.\n\nKey messages: • This study provided a first multicentre perspective on dynamics of substance-related ED utilization at the national level in Germany.\n\n• Findings provide reassurance that the EURO 2024 did not result in an alarming additional burden on participating EDs that would have required immediate public health intervention.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": "abstract",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "C Schlump"
    },
    {
      "name": "M Schranz"
    },
    {
      "name": "N Charfeddine"
    },
    {
      "name": "M Rupprecht"
    },
    {
      "name": "A Ullrich"
    },
    {
      "name": "M Diercke"
    },
    {
      "name": "RG Aktin"
    },
    {
      "name": "J Estupinan Mendez"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3hfnvth4eb5e3.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.238",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13697588/",
  "id": "3hfnvth4eb5e3",
  "issns": [
    "1101-1262",
    "1464-360X"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.238",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "3. PARALLEL PROGRAMME"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "AcademicSubjects/MED00860"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "AcademicSubjects/SOC01210"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "AcademicSubjects/SOC02610"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2713|Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223669314",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13697588/pdf/?tool=EBI",
  "pmcid": "PMC13697588",
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-01",
  "publisher": "Oxford University Press",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3hfnvth4eb5e3.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:37Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13697588",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.238"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:21:31Z",
      "native_id": "PMC:PMC13697588",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13697588"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2713|Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes",
      "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Hosting UEFA EURO 2024 in Germany: changes in substance-related emergency department utilization",
  "title_text": "Hosting UEFA EURO 2024 in Germany: changes in substance-related emergency department utilization",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:34:36Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3hfnvth4eb5e3",
  "venue": "The European Journal of Public Health",
  "versions": []
}